The Last Hope
by Aliza Hope
Summary: Everybody noticed the change in James Potter, even he noticed it. They all knew what caused the change as well. Everybody saw the girl that died in his arms but nobody knew why she died in his arms. That was something only he knew. And that was something that he was going to fix, no matter what happened to him. He promised. Time Travel!sort of[James P. Lily Evans P.]OOC kind of sad


_"Give them to my dad, 'Mione, please," Harry said before sucking in a large breath. Tears fell from her eyes and from his as they had both realized that this was their final good-bye. _

_"I will, Harry," Hermione cried. _

_"Love you," was all her boyfriend was able to get out. _

_"Love you, too," she whispered to him. He smiled slightly then his eyes closed and he went limp. _

Hermione's eyes flashed open and she stared at the ceiling above her. She took a long, shuddering breath before she stood, changed out of her nightclothes and went to the cauldron that was bubbling on her desk.

She gave it a quick stir then sat in her desk chair. Hermione knew that the potion she'd worked so hard to complete would be done in less than five minutes and she was quite relieved. The Death Eaters were after her and much longer would have them finding her and killing her. So, she waited impatiently for the not very well-known potion to turn from emerald green to crystal blue.

When it finally did four minutes later, she turned off the fire and ladled the amount she needed to do what she needed to do into a cup. Just as she was about to down the potion her wards fell and she knew what that meant. The Death Eaters had found her. She let out a string of expletives that she'd learned from her late best friend. She downed the potion then drew her wand and Godric Gryffindor's sword.

She just had to fight for thirty minutes so the potion could go into effect. She jumped into the swarm of Death Eaters, her wand sending spell after spell and Gryffindor's sword flashing. Finally, after thirty minutes of fighting and several fatal injuries for Hermione, she disappeared in a flash of light.

The first thing Hermione noticed after she'd been whisked to the past was the pain that coursed through her body. She groaned as she lifted her torso from the ground. She slipped her wand back into its holster on her arm then, using her unbroken right arm, she slipped Gryffindor's sword back into its sheathe.

Being very careful, she hoisted herself up and took a single step. With a yelp of pain she crumpled to the ground. "Shit!" She cursed when she realized that the entirety of her right leg was completely shattered. Hermione thought back to her late boyfriend's final moments. Love began to course through her veins, overriding the pain.

Her energy renewed, Hermione stood and half-walked, half-dragged her broken leg behind her to the castle. It was slow-going but love continued to course through her veins and Hermione never faltered. Finally she reached the large oak doors and she pressed them opened with her good shoulder. She continued to the second pair of doors that she also pressed open with her good shoulder.

James Potter almost gave himself whiplash when the doors to the great hall opened. He did several double takes before actually staring at the woman that stood in the door. She would have been very pretty, James assumed, if she didn't look quite so... battered.

The woman was favoring her right leg and her left arm fell limp at her side. Her right arm was wrapped around her torso, which spilled blood at an amazingly fast rate. Blood poured from the left side of her head and her left eye, which looked as if it was no longer there.

Before James even knew what he was doing, he'd stood and was making his way toward the very wounded woman. She noticed and took a couple steps but her right leg gave way and she began to fall. Without even realizing it, James, using his animagus's speed, ran to her and caught her before she hit the ground. He lowered the both of them to the ground, carefully.

The woman removed her right arm from her torso and raised it to James' face. She placed her blood-covered hand on James's cheek and memories and information began to fill James's mind. Finally, the woman, who James now knew to be Hermione Granger, removed her hand from his face and began to take off her belt. James helped her and took the sword when she offered it.

"Take it. You'll need it," she whispered. James nodded, placing the sword beside him.

"Thank you," he cried.

"Save yourself. Save your bride. Save your son. Save me. Save the world," she began. "You can do it. I know you can and your son does to. We believe in you," she finished.

"Join him, now, Love. He's waiting for you," James said, softly.

"Thank you, James. Thank you. And good luck," she said before her eyes fluttered shut and she went limp in his arms. Tears began to fall from his eyes, making tracks in the blood that she'd left on his cheek. He placed Hermione on the floor then wrapped her belt that held the sword around his waist.

"Mr. Potter?" Professor Dumbledore asked. James stood and turned to his headmaster. He shook his head to tell them that she was dead. Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall gasped.

"Why don't you go wash all that blood off yourself, Mr. Potter," Dumbledore said. James nodded mutely and turned and left the Great Hall. He returned half an hour later, his clothes changed and the now clean sword hanging from his hip. Hermione had been removed from sight and everybody seemed to be eating merrily. James sat beside Sirius Black who clapped him on the back.

"You okay, mate?" Sirius said. James nodded and picked up his fork and began to poke at his food. When the feast finished he followed Lily Evans out the door so they could begin their duties as head boy and girl.

"Are you okay?" She asked him.

"Do I look okay?" James said, emotionlessly.

"No. You look as if you've been through Hell and back. You look as if you've seen things that no man your age should see," Lily said, looking up at his pain-filled face.

"I have," he said, pain filling his voice as he looked at his future bride. Tears began to well up in her eyes and she didn't quite understand why.

"She asked you to do something didn't she?" Lily asked.

"Yes, she did," James answered.

"Are you going to do it?" Lily muttered.

"Yes, I am," he answered.

"Can I help?" Lily asked, hope filling her voice. James tensed and stopped. Lily stopped with him.

"No," he said tersely.

"Why not?" She whined.

"I'm afraid," he muttered.

"You don't have to be afraid for me, James," she said, sounding offended. She gasped when he pressed her back against the wall and placing his hands on either side of her.

"I'm not afraid for you, Lily. I'm afraid of losing you," he growled, fear evident in his eyes and voice.

"Why?" Lily whimpered.

"Good God, Lily. I love you. I have for a while now. I-I c-can't lose you," he said, stuttering at the thought of losing his love. Lily wiped away the tears that had begun to fall then pressed a chaste kiss to his lips.

"Okay. I won't help but if you get hurt, come to me and I'll try my best to heal you, okay?" She said. James nodded. The two of them left that spot and continued their head boy/girl duties.

_A/N: This is going to stay a oneshot unless you want me to continue. Tell me if you'd like me to continue and I will. I've got it planned out._


End file.
